1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to test handlers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pick-and-place module included in a pick-and-place apparatus for test handlers that picks and places semiconductor devices between different loading and aligning elements to transfer them therebetween.
2. Description of the Related Art
A test handler is equipment that loads semiconductor devices in customer trays, which are manufactured by a certain process, onto a test tray, supports a tester to test the semiconductor devices loaded on the test tray, sorts the semiconductor devices based on the test result, and then unloads the semiconductor devices in the test tray onto customer trays.
The test handler includes a pick-and-place apparatus that transfers semiconductor devices between different loading or aligning elements, such as customer trays, test trays, aligners, buffers and sorting tables. The pick-and-place apparatus has at least one pick-and-place module.
The pick-and-place module includes a plurality of pickers, arranged in a line, for sucking-picking semiconductor devices or placing them using vacuum pressure.
The customer tray serves to load and store semiconductor devices, so it is preferable that the customer tray is designed to load as large a number of semiconductor devices as possible. With developments in semiconductor manufacturing process technology, the semiconductor devices can now be manufactured in smaller sizes however they have the same function, so that more semiconductor devices can be loaded onto the same customer tray. That is, if a customer tray has been loading eight semiconductor devices onto its single row, as semiconductor devices are reduced in size due to the development of semiconductor manufacturing process technology, ten or twelve semiconductor devices can now be loaded onto the same customer tray in a single row. In that case, the interval between the semiconductor devices, loaded onto the customer tray in lots of ten or twelve per row, is narrower than the interval between the semiconductor devices loaded onto the same customer tray in lots of eight per row.
If a test handler is supplied with customer trays on which eight semiconductor devices are loaded in a single row and then with customer trays on which ten or twelve semiconductor devices are loaded in a single row, or vice-versa, the pickers of the pick-and-place module need to adjust the interval corresponding thereto. However, there is no means for adjusting the intervals between the pickers so that the pickers can be universally applied to all customer trays on which different numbers of semiconductor devices are loaded in the same area. Therefore, when the customer trays having different loading capacities are supplied to the test handler, the pick-and-place modules need to be replaced.
In addition, the time required to transfer semiconductor devices can be reduced only when one pick-and-place module is provided with a plurality of pickers corresponding to the number required to pick all the semiconductor devices loaded on a customer tray in a single row. If a customer tray, on which eight semiconductor devices are loaded in a single row, is replaced with a customer tray on which ten or twelve semiconductor devices are loaded in a single row, or vice-versa, the number of pickers needs to be increased or decreased. However, conventional pick-and-place modules do not have any means to increase or decrease the number of pickers, so they must be replaced whenever the number of semiconductor devices is changed on the customer tray to be supplied to the test handler.
Therefore, conventional pick-and-place modules are disadvantageous in that they need to be manufactured in various types according to the intervals between pickers or the numbers of pickers. In addition, since conventional pick-and-place modules must be completely replaced, manufacturing costs increases, resources are wasted, and replacement time is required.